Lawsuit filed against driver of truck that hit school bus

The parents of four children injured in a school bus crash in Reagan County this month have filed a negligence lawsuit against the driver of the tanker truck that crashed into the back of the bus, and his employer.

Four of the eight children injured in the crash were siblings. Ivan and Iveth Maldonado, 11-year-old twins, sustained internal injuries and multiple leg fractures and are hospitalized at Shannon Medical Center in San Angelo, said the family's attorney, Kevin Glasheen.

The other children, 15-year-old Abigail Maldonado, who suffered a broken leg, and 13-year-old Raul Maldonado, who suffered minor neck and back injuries, were treated and released.

State troopers are still investigating the crash, which occurred on Oct. 13 about 21 miles north of Big Lake near State Highway 137 and County Road 56. The driver of the truck, 27-year-old Brandon Cain, told troopers he fell asleep at the wheel before crashing into the rear of the bus, which was stopped in the northbound lane of the highway letting passengers off.

Cain was wearing a seat belt and was uninjured, but both vehicles were forced into a ditch by the impact. Nine people were injured, including the bus driver, 50-year-old Connie Levario.

The lawsuit Glasheen filed last week on behalf of Jesus and Maria Maldonado of Big Lake, the children's parents, states that Cain's employer, Coastal Chemical Co. LLC, which also owns the truck Cain was driving, "breached its duty to exercise reasonable care and acted negligently and careless in hiring, supervising and training ... Cain to perform in the course of his employment."

Coastal Chemical is based in Abbeville, La., but has operations in Texas and other states.

Glasheen said on Tuesday he and the family wanted to file the lawsuit quickly "to preserve the evidence" and that he is conducting his own investigation to determine the nature of the negligence.

"Any time we get into a truck wreck where the driver fell asleep, we want to do a lot of investigating," Glasheen said.

The lawsuit says the plaintiffs will "seek exemplary damages in an amount within the jurisdictional limits of the court." Whatever the exact damages are, Glasheen said it will be "a very substantial claim."

"We don't know what kind of recovery the kids are going to make yet," he said.

Glasheen said information obtained from the truck's data recorder ? the equivalent of a black box in an airplane ? showed that the truck, a 2008 International, was traveling at about 54 mph and that the brakes were not applied until after impact.

"That's consistent with truck driver's statement that he fell asleep," Glasheen said, adding that he also plans to obtain Cain's driver's log and the results of any drug tests he may have taken.

The Department of Public Safety office in Big Lake did not respond to calls requesting an update on its investigation.

A letter obtained by the Standard-Times from Coastal Chemical Co. LLC President Randy King, addressed to the Reagan Independent School District Superintendent Marshall Harrison, says that the company intends to "deal fairly and expeditiously with all expenses arising from the accident" and asks Harrison to provide the children's families with an address to forward their medical bills.

"Coastal would like all of the families impacted by the accident ... to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them," said King in the letter.